Woodburn Independent Online

Woodburn to get walking, bike trail

The first phase of the Mill Creek trail will cost $465,000

• By: Rachel Cavanaugh  
• Published: 7/22/2010 10:27:03 AM

Photo By: Rachel CavanaughMill Creek
Work on the Mill Creek Greenway trail system in Woodburn is underway again after a pause during wet spring months. The city’s Recreation and Parks Director Jim Row said he hopes the $465,000 Phase I of the project will get more residents on board with the idea of greenways.

WOODBURN — The first phase of Woodburn’s Mill Creek trail project is underway.
 
In Phase I, which will cost about $465,000, workers will install a three-quarter mile stretch of paved and gravel trails between downtown and Deer Run near Hermanson Pond.
 
Work started this winter when crews excavated the trail and laid gravel outside the wetlands; however, it was put on hold due to rainy spring weather.
 
They are now out there again on the southern trail phase, where, over the next six weeks, they will put in pavement, install benches, place garbage cans and build a parking area and trailhead at Cleveland and Brown streets.
 
“This will be the first trail project in Woodburn,” said Recreation and Parks Director Jim Row.
 
“What I’m really hoping is that this project will be viewed as a positive asset to members of the community and they will utilize it and experience the benefits that nonmotorized trails can provide.”
 
He pointed to recreation, public health and transportation uses.
 
The idea of the Mill Creek trail system has been around since the 1960s but was mostly a long-term vision without specific outlines. That changed in 2003 when the mayor put a task force together to develop a master plan. The Greenway Master Plan was adopted in 2006 and the following year, the city obtained funding for Phase I.
 
That phase is a three-quarter mile stretch, but the whole system will eventually span eight miles of trail running north to south, with a couple of tributaries around places like Goose Creek and the OGA Golf Course.
 
The southern tributary will head west by a parking lot on Cleveland Street and through Settlemier Park and other areas.
 
The northern tributary will go through Goose Creek and Highway 214, heading west through the OGA Golf Course.
 
Although it will likely take a couple decades to complete, the first phase is expected to be done by the end of August, Row said.
 
Another section at Wyffels Park may also happen in the next year or two if the city is able to get a grant.
 
The Mill Creek project came under some fire last year when the city’s recreation and parks master plan was being approved. The project is outlined in the plan and there were elements some neighbors objected to, which were voiced during public hearing sessions.
 
That said, the plan passed and most of the controversy has settled since.
 
The goal for Phase I, according to Row, is to get more of the public on board with trail systems in general and create momentum for future projects.
 
“My hope is that people will experience something that they haven’t had before and will be supportive of it and enjoy it,” he said. “I think once people get a sense of it, it’s something they’re going to want to see more of.”

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